I don't think that the monkey would accept that price you paid for this flashlights, all 5 of them... P.S. I don't have any T13...
Thanks :)
Thanks for the feedback guys.
You have 5? I declare you to be the person who should push it further! 
I only have 1, so I do not want to ruin the circuit board. 
But I have played with the thought of 1 emitter with a deep reflector for some throw and 5+ Nichia on small TIR optics around. All inside the head of a T13 with a custom pill. One button for throw, one button for nice flood. Something like that…
That could have been a nice project in case the stock driver got fried…
I might put a 20mm cooper PCB in it some time in the future.
Or ill just buy the ZY-T08 and add XM-L2 on cooper to that instead.
In that light I could just push it to 4A or more with stock driver, and if something overheats and break. Simple driver swap.
I lapped the base of the heatsink module because it was not finished right and had machining depressions in the aluminum, Used a flat steel screw with sandpaper and a drill I also lapped the star on a piece of glass so the heat can be transfered faster, using AS5 I can really tell that there is a good thermal path to the body, I also sanded down the white centering ring to about half thickness using sandpaper the beam becomes smaller and more intense.
Waiting for XM-L2’s in U2 bin to be available to upgrade it.
Can you please tell us how the screw turned the sandpaper without ripping yet? A pic might help.
3M sandpaper glued to the screw using this spray adhesive I bought at hobby lobby, once it dries it holds great, then just use the drill at low speed, it will polish the heat sink just fine.
Pics taken from this thread over here
Thanks Alex, and thanks for the link.
Just got 156 155 kcd measured on a mod'ed T13 - resistor mod to 1.7A tail (3.4A effective), de-domed XM-L2 T6 0D/SinkPAD, UCL/p lens. Maybe $18 or so in parts. It is de-domed, so has the usual characteristics (more neutral tint, loses brightness in flood) but still does over 1,000 1,030 lumens at 30 secs. If you did without the UCL/p, maybe $10-$12 in parts with results in the 140's kcd146 kcd.
Overall, a pretty simple mod - used the FT resistor trim pot.
Edited - see above (tried from memory at first)
I changed mine to an XP-G2 on sinpad, measures 1.6 A at the tail cap. Will have to take lux later after work.
What procedure did you take to get your lux? I assume at that level you tested it at multiple distances.
Well, I got a lightbox made from large PVC elbows to measure lumens, then I got a fixed distance setup in my home office, measured at 4.31 meters and turn off the lights, then hunt around the center beam for the best reading - usually it's 20-40 secs or so - I never accept a reading in the first 10 secs. My readings match up pretty well/close to rdrfronty's and he's done a ton of lights, many with rated OTF and kcd #'s, so we think we are pretty well calibrated. The calc for standard candela for 1 meter is pretty simple, then easy to convert to distance.
Shoot - it was 155 kcd, not 156 (I'll update my post) and it was 1,030 lumens at 30 secs!
Do the math for distance: sqrt (155,000 / 0.25) = 787 meters. Std distance (throw) is based on moonlight which is considered 1/4 lux.
Tom, I’ve been waffling back and forth between the zy-t08 and the zy-t13. If you wanted to make an inexpensive thrower, which one would you choose and why?
You know, I'm thinking the same thing... Reflectors are nearly the same. If you want pure power, don't care how difficult the mod is, go with the T08 - I got over 200 kcd on a de-domed XM-L2 U2 1A-1C in a T08, and went with a sandwhich style Nanjg at 4.55A (yes - double piggyback'ed 1 chip), and added copper inside the pill. The T13 is limited because of the 2 batts in series, and heard can't go too high with the resistor mod (1.7A measured is probably a little too high).
In the T08 you got a normal alum pill - the T13 is like a Jacob A60, no threaded pill and the pill top is anodized and not level - it dips in in the middle which means you won't get a good bond with the SinkPAD. I just did mine last night - sanded the pill top and it's quite clear to see. Put a lot of AS5 under there and none squeezed out, so it's all in that shallow cavity -- a little scary!!
So, the mod for the T13 is easier (just the resistor mod - actually used the FT 10 ohm trim pot), no Nanjg, no soldering 5 7135's, no stripping components off a driver, no added copper....
For the T08, with the UCL/p you pick up clearance, so, I added a 22 gauge copper disc under the SinkPAD -- a lot more work going on for the T08 and outstanding results.
I’m an advocate of parallel battery config but in this case I’d still go for T13. Absolutely love the forward clicky/always-start-high UI, definitely designed for a thrower.
The best reason would be that the buck driver is able to drive emitter harder and more stable, regardless of battery status. On mine, it will steadily deliver 3A even when battery is well below halfway. You can’t do this with a parallel battery (e.g T08), unless it’s using boost driver.
The downside is it’s not pocketable, and being in series, you do need a good matching protected battery.
I agree - really like the UI on the T13 over the T08 for the same reasons as you, but (big but), the driver sucks - hate 5 modes, med isn't much less than high, low should be lower. On the T08 -- custom driver, programmed, moonlight, battery status, etc. - anything I want basically. Also would like the T13 UI better if I could turn power on/off via the side switch and not have to use the tail switch.
It’s a tough call but I think I’m going for the T13. It just seems it can over-drive the led a bit easier with two bats in series. I hadn’t heard the T-13 driver resistor mod could only go so hi. Maybe after I get the light I’ll see how far I can push the stock driver. In case I toast it, has anyone tried out this driver?
havn’t used that driver but i have used this one.
Thanks. Reading about it now.
Just measured lux at 114,300 on my XP-G2 at 4.2 Amps. Not dedomed yet. Might do that soon.
You mean candela, or lux at 1 meter? That's a nice # for straight w/dome - is the XP-G2 on a SinkPAD? Did you do the resistor mod to bring it up to 4.2A?
You got me think'n if I should raise my amps up - I got the trim pot in there for 3.4A now...
eh……lux at 1 meter. I measured at 3 and converted back.
I did the resistor mod, but wasn’t happy at 3.4
Yep on a sinkpad
How big of a difference do you think a dedome will make?